


You're Shorter Than I Imagined

by FlamingRedBird



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, M/M, Slow Burn, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Trans Jack, and vice versa, idiots to lovers, jeremy is just a fool, platonic ryan and jeremy cause battle buddies is always great, the first thing you say to your soulmate is written on their arm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-07-23 12:16:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20008159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlamingRedBird/pseuds/FlamingRedBird
Summary: Jeremy knew at age 9 what exactly a soulmate was.At age 12 he was already planning his wedding proposal with the help of some of his friends.At age 15, when he was much shorter than his classmates and deemed a “late bloomer” he knew he was going to punch his soulmate the first time he saw them.At age 18 he had given up hope of growing past 5’4” and had come to terms with the fact that his soulmate was either going to get punched, or get a very sarcastic response (he was really hoping to punch them).At age 24 he found himself in a different city, a different state; across the entire country. He somehow managed this by joining an underground boxing ring, stealing a monster truck, and faking his ID in order to get a plane ticket as fast as possible.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm trying my best to get back into writing again, so I figured I'd go back to an old work in progress and start hammering away at it.  
> The first chapter is just me trying to get a little bit of character building in before diving headfirst into idiot-plot.
> 
> My Tumblr is: irlgoldenboy.tumblr.com or the-fahc-golden-boy.tumblr.com

_ “You’re shorter than I imagined” _

Jeremy knew at age 9 what exactly a soulmate was. 

At age 12 he was already planning his wedding proposal with the help of some of his friends. 

At age 15, when he was much shorter than his classmates and deemed a “late bloomer” he knew he was going to punch his soulmate the first time he saw them. 

At age 18 he had given up hope of growing past 5’4” and had come to terms with the fact that his soulmate was either going to get punched, or get a  _ very _ sarcastic response (he was really hoping to punch them).

At age 24 he found himself in a different city, a different state; across the entire country. He somehow managed this by joining an underground boxing ring, stealing a monster truck, and faking his ID in order to get a plane ticket as fast as possible.

Los Santos was gritty, bloody, dark, and everything Jeremy needed to hide out for a while. What he wasn’t expecting was to end up planting roots permanently in the city.

The first root was Axial.

He met Axial while working as his “bodyguard” for a crew that was newly pieced together and still struggling with power balances. Jeremy was hired on to be extra muscle, and was immediately used to guard the hired hacker. Jeremy never said a word to Axial, and Axial never said a word to him.

Jeremy’s job was to keep watch over Axial to make sure nothing happened to him; so Jeremy just stood nearby idly on his phone. Axial just typed away on his laptop, occasionally talking in code over the radio.

“Hey eye-sore, c’mere for a moment,” Jeremy was startled slight by the slightly gruff voice coming from behind him. He quickly whipped around to see Axial rubbing at his eyes, the bags under them much more noticeable when he was looking away from his computer screen.

Jeremy pointed at himself questioningly, unsure if he was indeed the “eye-sore” Axial meant. Axial just nodded yes and sighed as he looked back at his laptop screen.

“Please tell me you know how to code. Even basics would be fine.”

“I uh, know some basic coding, yes. Enough to get by on my own.” Jeremy stood in front of the desk, unsure what Axial wanted him to do.

“I need you to look over this and see if you can find any coding bugs. If you can’t then go get me a rubber duck.” 

A quick five minute glance soon turned into an hour long search through the mess of letters and numbers, which ended up in Jeremy making a run to the nearest corner store for a rubber duck. Jeremy picked up the first one he saw; a little yellow duck wearing a green frog hat. Axial laughed when it was presented to him, but graciously took the gift.

Two hours later saw him tiredly fixing the small bugs he found as he relayed the whole code to the little duck, which had been named “Duckington” by the two of them.

That little duck was the first piece of a long friendship.

The second root he planted was when he permanently joined the crew that had originally hired him to keep watch over Axial (or Matt seeing as how they were on a first name basis).

The crew was more of a rag-tag team of people, no one that really fit in anywhere else but with other misfits. It was actually rather nice.

Everyone felt more like a family, all on even ground with each other. No inner-crew hierarchies to climb, no chain of command to follow, it was very much a team effort which you never really saw with crews in Los Santos.

The crew was his family, better than the one he grew up with in Boston.

The third root was hard to appreciate at first.

The “B-Team” as they called themselves had decided to merge with one of the other similar crews. The “Fake AH Crew” as they called themselves, or really just the Fakes if you wanted to avoid the mouthful.

Jeremy had been skeptical at first, but everyone else seemed to enjoy (or at least entertain) the idea of coming together with the other crew.

The Fakes were smaller than them, but yet held more influence over the city by having picked up a couple heavy names over the years. 

Jeremy got along with Kingpin, aka Geoff, the “leader” of the crew. He quickly learned that Geoff wasn’t the greatest at leading them, just good at keeping appearances up and helping direct people into the best jobs. Geoff was actually rather lazy and spent his free time reading and just overall being a dad to the crew. (Yeah Jeremy had accidentally called him dad a couple times, but so had everyone else at some point)

Then there was the Pilot. Fierce and stiff and just about as scary as the jets she flew. Only in reality, she was the closest thing to a human teddy bear. Jack was Geoff’s soulmate, she had shown the phrase on her arm to everyone in the crew as a warming-up story, the phrase  _ “Dear GOD please don’t hit me”  _ was written across her forearm, everyone laughing at the idea of Geoff “Touch my books and I’ll gut you” Ramsey had thought Jack was going to jump him the first chance she got, when in reality she was keeping him away from a drunk driver.

The story was warm and kind of sickeningly sweet for a pair of crime bosses, but it didn’t make Jeremy feel any better about the five words scrawled across his own right arm.  _ “You’re shorter than I imagined” _ Yeah whoever his soulmate was, was going to get a swift beating, supernatural connection or not.

The next person Jeremy got acquainted with was the Vagabond. Before meeting him, he was Jeremy’s idol and worst nightmare at the same time. The Vagabond was like everyone in Los Santos’ boogeyman; slinking in the shadows and taking lives like it was what he was born to do. But Jeremy quickly learned that the Vagabond was just a kind of a title, passed along to Ryan Haywood. A quiet former model turned mechanic that was roped into the life by a former friend and ended up with the black skull mask (the only constant) by sheer dumb luck.

Ryan and Jeremy worked well together, and hell even the Vagabond and Rimmy Tim did too.

Rimmy Tim was Jeremy’s new “alter-ego”. The purple and orange eye sore that had befriended Matt, that same art student’s nightmare that introduced himself to the Fakes on the first combined heist. Rimmy Tim was what Jeremy used to be; crazy, rambunctious, and just dumb enough to try to make a get away in a monster truck. Rimmy Tim was Jeremy minus the fear of his past.

Mogar at first was the last person Jeremy wanted to meet. Word on the street said that Mogar was a savage, some kid Kingpin picked up in the middle of the woods and handed a gun to, telling him one thing and one thing only,  _ “Shoot first and ask questions never” _ . Some even said Mogar was the Jersey Devil himself. Jeremy knew all this to be a lie as soon as he saw Mogar for one night. Mogar was just Michael, a kid from his high school that had an obsession with lighting bags of dog shit on fire and throwing them into rich people’s yards while laughing his ass off about it for the next week.

Michael wasn’t scary.

But if he wanted scary? The one who locked himself up in the computer room with Matt all day was scary.

That was Geoff’s “Golden Boy” and from what Matt spoke of him? The dude was like anyone’s  _ true _ worst nightmare. Fast fingers and an even faster mind. Sharp as hell and cold as ice.

The Golden Boy had access to just about any document that had ever touched the internet, and from there it didn’t take him much to connect the dots.

But from what Ryan spoke about him? He was just as young as Jeremy, and with enough ego to fill up two whole other people. Ryan said that he’d never stop asking dumb questions, and only ever left his “nest” when Jack forced him to eat with everyone else on occasion.

Jeremy was conflicted.

Matt spoke like he was a brilliant mastermind. (Annoying as hell to deal with, but an incredibly smart hacker). Ryan spoke like he was Geoff’s kid that Geoff was just trying to put to use somewhere he wouldn’t break anything.

In all fairness though, Jeremy didn’t believe either of them. Not until he had met this “Golden Boy” for himself at least.

So when he wasn’t busy he’d wait outside the computer room. Matt would slip out first and assume Jeremy was waiting for him. And well, Jeremy was just too polite to admit to his friend that he was actually waiting to try and meet the other guy. Never once did Matt leave after Golden Boy, never once did Jeremy get to meet him.

It went on for a month.

One whole month of Jeremy mulling over if it was really worth it to spend this much time trying to meet this “mysterious” crew member.

Eventually he was nearing the end of his patience, so he did what any sensible person would. He brought it up to Jack.

“I just don’t understand! I’ve met everyone except him, and no matter what I can’t seem to be in the same place as him at the same time!” Jeremy was gesturing wildly, his cowboy hat threatening to fall off as his hands flapped above his head.

“This is just how he is Jeremy, there’s no need to take it so,” She snickered slightly as attempted to mirror his flailing arms, “so to heart I guess.”

Jeremy just groaned, sliding down the kitchen counter. Jack just smiled and started to hum as she went back to cooking her lunch.

“I’d watch where you sit if I were you, this pot of boiling water seems dangerously close to your head.”

Jeremy didn’t need to be told twice. Vaguely hidden threats were how Jack worked at getting you out of her way. Vague threats that she’s actually followed through on more than one occasion. (He’d witnessed Michael trying to bug her for the keys to her car and she threatened to lock him in the walk in freezer. Michael didn’t believe her and about an hour later Jeremy and Ryan were breaking him out of said freezer like a human popsicle heist.)

A week later and he still hadn’t even caught a  _ glimpse _ of the Golden Boy. In fact, it was to the point Jeremy was starting to think everyone was collectively pretending that he was real when instead this “Golden Boy” never existed in the first place.

Jeremy was sitting outside one of their warehouses with Ryan, keeping guard because according to Geoff, “Golden Boy” had picked up little tid-bits here and there that a rival crew might be making an attempt to break into their warehouse on the coast.

Jeremy let out a bored sigh and fell against Ryan. (It was a thing he did, leaning on Ryan like a child. Ryan didn’t mind, in fact he rather enjoyed it.)

“You’re thinking too hard again, I can hear the wheels groaning.” Ryan kept his gaze forward, eyes watching the bushes in the distance.

“It’s nothing” At this Ryan moved his shoulder, effectively moving Jeremy back into a standing position.

“I’ve spent enough time with you to know that isn’t how your brain works.”

“Ughhh, fine” Jeremy focused on the same bushes as Ryan, noticing an odd shake to them. “It’s just, does the Golden Boy actually exist?”

Ryan laughed at this, his hand reaching for the gun at his hip. “Yeah unfortunately he does.” He drew the gun slowly out of its holster. “Why, still haven’t seen him yet?”

“No, I feel like you’re all just pulling some elaborate prank on me.” Jeremy pulled out his own gun as well, bringing it up slowly with Ryan’s.

“I think I have some pictures on my phone of him if you want me to-” Ryan quickly popped off two silence shots into the bushes while Jeremy did the same. “-show you.”

The two of them watched as two bodies fell out of the bush they shot at. A third body went sprinting off into the distance. Jeremy smirked, that one guy would tell his crew that the Fakes had found out their plans and had killed the other two guys who were staking out the place.

“Yeah, sure why not. My curiosity is  _ killing _ me.” Jeremy clicked the safety back on his gun and slid it back into the holster on his thigh, Ryan mirrored him, sliding his back into the holster at his hip.

Ryan pulled his phone out of his back pocket and tapped on it, navigating to his gallery where Jeremy caught a glimpse of  _ several _ candid shots of Michael. He decided that whatever was going on between those two, he  _ definitely _ didn’t need to know.

“Here’s the smug prick decked out before he went off to a negotiation with Geoff,” Ryan turned his phone so Jeremy could see.

The Golden Boy was tall and slim, but he pulled it off. The way he was stretched out over the heist table highlighted the leanness in his figure. Jeremy realized now why he was called “Golden Boy”, everything about him just oozed money and ego. His hair was bleach blonde, the gold shades sparkled, the jewelry was a little much, but the nail polish was Jeremy’s favorite piece. In the picture he had his nails painted with gold and black, each nail alternating in color, reminding Jeremy of the woman from the movie Holes that painted her nails with rattlesnake venom.

Something about him just  _ captivated _ Jeremy, just pulled him in and he couldn’t stop staring.

Ryan had noticed, and when Jeremy finally got a hold of himself, he swiftly gave Ryan a kick to his shins to wipe the shit-eating smirk off his face.

“He looks like rich asshole.” Jeremy lied.

“He kind of is, but in that annoying sibling way that makes you wish daddy stopped giving him an allowance each week.” Ryan turned his phone off and slipped it back into his pocket, giving Jeremy a chance to end the conversation.

“So… Guess we can head back to the penthouse?” He didn’t quite know what to do with his hands, so he settled on just putting them in his pockets.

“Yeah, let Geoff know the good news. Maybe celebrate a little bit.”

Jeremy nodded. Getting absolutely shit-faced sounded like the best option right now.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You can’t keep avoiding him forever, sooner or later you’ll have to stop being a pussy and just say hi.” Michael crossed his arms, the beer he’d been nursing was sitting on the coffee table.
> 
> “But Micooool,” Gavin dragged out the ooo as much as possible. “He’s new, and you know I don’t like new people. New people are weeeeeeeird.”
> 
> Michael reached for his beer and knocked it all back in one shot, never really wanting to be sober while dealing with a drunk Gavin. (Gavin wasn’t actually drunk, just slightly buzzed, but he was just always this annoying)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 because I'm sitting at my work computer bored out of my mind!
> 
> I'm also really happy that people seem to be liking it so far, so I felt really motivated to get this next chapter out. It's a tad shorter than the previous one, but this is mainly some more character building to help get the ball rolling.

“You can’t keep avoiding him forever, sooner or later you’ll have to stop being a pussy and just say hi.” Michael crossed his arms, the beer he’d been nursing was sitting on the coffee table.

“But Micooool,” Gavin dragged out the  _ ooo _ as much as possible. “He’s new, and you know I don’t like new people. New people are  _ weeeeeeeird _ .”

Michael reached for his beer and knocked it all back in one shot, never really wanting to be sober while dealing with a drunk Gavin. (Gavin wasn’t actually drunk, just slightly buzzed, but he was just always this annoying)

“You whine too much, y’know that?” He playfully smacked Gavin across the shoulder, startling Gavin enough that he spilled his drink all over his lap. “Want a little  _ cheese _ with all that wine?” He broke out laughing, just enjoying the pout on Gavin’s face.

“You don’t know anything about this “Jeremy” so why are you so relaxed around him?” Gavin set his drink down on the table, then went on a search for napkins. 

“Actually I do know him,”

That got Gavin’s attention; he paused where he was dapping away at the spill on the couch cushions. “You wot?”

“We went to high school together, he was on the wrestling team and I hung out with him a couple times at some parties. Nothing big,” Michael just shrugged and attempted to drink again from his empty bottle, scowling at the offending object.

At this new information Gavin just gawked. Everyone seemed to know Jeremy well enough now that they weren’t afraid of anything he could do. Ryan said he was feisty, Jack said he was brave, Geoff said he was stupid, and Matt just said he was a person. (Some help Matt was, for supposedly being his best friend he didn’t have much dirt on him.)

“He’s just a guy who has horrible fashion taste and like monster trucks maybe a  _ little _ too much. Just talk to him and get it over with.” Michael’s phone suddenly went off, blaring out  _ Viva La Vida _ , which Gavin knew to be the ringtone he had set for Ryan.

“I’ll let you take that call, boi.” Michael gave Gavin a quick nod in thanks before he got up and left the room.

As far as Gavin knew, Jeremy had never seen him in person yet, and all Gavin had seen of his was the purple and orange blurs from security footage he was watching during their missions and heists. (Actually that was a lie, Gavin had done some digging online to learn more about Jeremy and had seen the warrant out for his arrest online for  _ stealing a monster truck from a rally  _ of all things).

Gavin had decided that maybe getting up the courage to talk to him might not be such a bad idea. In fact, Gavin decided that he was going to invite Jeremy out for drinks and get to know him!

The only downside to this brilliant idea, was that Gavin had no idea how to contact Jeremy about this offer. Sure he had easily figured out Jeremy’s phone number, but even he wasn’t dense enough to know you don’t just text a stranger asking them out for drinks.

The only thing Gav could do was the one thing he was afraid of, actually talking to Jeremy in person.

It’s one thing for drunk Gavin to talk to strangers. Drunk Gavin was mouthy and smooth, and had little to no filter. Drunk Gavin had too much confidence and ended up picking fights with guys twice his size all because  _ he could _ .

The other thing that terrified Gavin about meeting new people, was that one first phrase they’d say to each other. That one first phrase that could turn out matching the writing on his arm.

He had seen Michael’s, the words  _ Not on my watch Mogar _ splayed out on his forearm. When Michael had first shown him, it was long before Ryan had joined the crew, long before they had even considered that the Vagabond had human feelings.

Michael had explained that when he left New England he had used Mogar as a cover name all because of how he liked the sound of it after he read the word on his arm. Mogar was the name of a warrior, and that’s all Michael ever wanted to be.

It wasn’t until two years later when Gavin was able to witness firsthand the meeting between two soulmates. 

He had been watching through a series of security cameras on his double monitor setup. Keeping an eye on Geoff, Jack, and Michael. Every now and then he’d feed directions through the comms, helping his crew out when they needed it.

But Gavin had noticed something dark following Michael; had watched this almost  _ shadow _ stalk him through the alleyways and side streets. He watched as Michael passed under a street light, and just as he was about to change cameras, he noticed the shadow pass under that same light. Watched in horror as he realized that Michael,  _ his boi _ , was being made prey to the biggest predator of the city, The Vagabond.

_ “MICHAEL WATCH OUT _ ”

But it was too late, Michael had turned around too slow, had been knocked upside the head by the Vagabond. Gavin looked on in horror, a silent observer to his friend’s fate.

_ “So this is how I go.” _ Micheal’s voice was stoic; and to anyone who didn’t know him, they’d have said he was even brave. Gavin knew better though, knew that Michael’s voice had a hint of resignation in it.

He watched as Michael closed his eyes, accepting his fate. But the finishing blow never came, in fact the Vagabond seemed to be shocked.

Gavin could only barely hear the Vagabond’s voice as he spoke out in a pained, and slightly guilt riddled whisper,  _ “Not on my watch Mogar”  _

Michael looked relieved, and Gavin watched as the Vagabond picked him up and carefully slung him over his shoulder. The Vagabond turned around and looked directly up at the security camera Gavin had hacked into. He gave a slight wave and mumbled into Michael’s comm,  _ “Sorry ‘bout your friend, pick him up at the docks tomorrow morning. I promise he’ll be alive.” _

Gavin watched as he walked off, struggling slightly under Michael’s weight.

The next morning Geoff, Jack, and Gavin were all at the docks waiting. Gavin had explained what happened, even telling them that the Vagabond had said the words that were printed on Michael’s arm.

An hour later Ryan pulled up with a slightly battered, but alive, Michael, and Jack and Geoff made their choice. They offered him a spot in the crew, and the Vagabond was shocked, but Michael had given him a nudge and that was all it took.

Gavin wasn’t really afraid of meeting his soulmate, he was just afraid of his soulmate not actually liking him.

He had been told several times that he wasn’t exactly likeable, that he was hard to get along with, that he was just an asshole that they all put up with. The crew told him they were joking, but it was hard to take it to heart when the words on his arm read  _ “So you’re the fucker I’m stuck with” _

Those words had always been a stab to his heart, knowing that his soulmate wouldn’t like him, knowing that whatever he’s going to say to his soulmate is going to trigger such a painful reaction.  _ That _ was the real reason he didn’t like meeting new people.

He never wanted to see the look of hurt and anger cross over the face of the person he was supposed to be perfect for. It made him jealous of everyone else, that they all had some kind of heroic first meeting, or something sweet and simple.

Matt’s arm read  _ “The best hacker? Clever”  _ And that had made him even more jealous, obviously someone  _ admired _ Matt’s skills enough that it was how they even knew him before they met!

“Thanks for the offer Jeremy, but you know I don’t drink.” Gavin sat up abruptly, not even realizing he was still sat on the couch in the penthouse. A wave of panic hit him as he realized that the Jeremy Ryan was talking to was the same Jeremy that Gavin had been avoiding meeting yet.

The  _ same Jeremy _ Gavin was planning on asking if he wanted to go get absolutely hammered with him tonight.

He watched as Ryan rounded the corner with his usual “duffel bag of doom” slung over his shoulder. Gavin gave him a small wave that Ryan returned with a middle finger. Yep, just the usual greeting.

He held his breath as he saw Jeremy round the corner. His purple and orange ensemble a much worse eye sore in person than on camera. His cowboy hat had been forgotten at the door and he was carrying a similar bag to Ryan’s, only a different color scheme that matched his whole “Rimmy Tim” persona.

Jeremy apparently hadn’t seen him since he just kept on trucking down the hallway after Ryan, and at this Gavin let out a sigh of relief.

At least he could keep putting this off until the last minute.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another week had passed and Jeremy was just about ready to burst into the computer room in order to satisfy his curiosity. Luckily Geoff had called everyone into the planning room in order to get ready for their next upcoming heist.
> 
> When Jeremy had wandered into the heist room only Geoff, Jack, and some of the B Team were already there. Jeremy took up residence in an open seat next to Matt, enjoying his friend’s company. (It had been a little while since they had taken time off to just hang out as friends, although they did spend time on small missions Geoff sent them out on together.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are ok with me starting the angst! I know I put the "enemies to lovers" tag on here for a reason, and you guys will finally get to see why!
> 
> Oh and feel free to tell me how much it hurts down in the comments!

Another week had passed and Jeremy was just about ready to burst into the computer room in order to satisfy his curiosity. Luckily Geoff had called everyone into the planning room in order to get ready for their next upcoming heist.

When Jeremy had wandered into the heist room only Geoff, Jack, and some of the B Team were already there. Jeremy took up residence in an open seat next to Matt, enjoying his friend’s company. (It had been a little while since they had taken time off to just hang out as friends, although they did spend time on small missions Geoff sent them out on together.)

Unsurprisingly the planned meeting started a half hour later than Geoff had wanted, mostly in part due to Michael literally dragging in their last team member. The two of them took their seats, Michael sitting next to Ryan and the other person (Jeremy recognized them as the Golden Boy from the picture Ryan showed him the other day) took the last empty seat next to Jeremy.

The meeting went by plainly. Geoff had spent the majority of it arguing with everyone and attempting to dissuade the seemingly unending flow of stupid questions the Golden Boy (or Gavin, as Jeremy had heard Geoff call him by) kept asking.

Jermey had spent most of the meeting casting side glances at Gavin, thankful that the other man didn’t seem to notice. (Or at least Jeremy hoped he couldn’t see him looking at him, those sunglasses really didn’t help.)

“Alright so team wise we’re gonna shake things up a little bit. I’ll need Ryan and Gavin up in the air keeping an eye on things,” Geoff gestured vaguely at the map he had taped to the heist whiteboard. Jeremy really couldn’t tell which of the sharpie markings he was pointing at, so he figured he’d just ask Ryan later.

“Team Love and Stuff!” Jeremy jumped slightly as Gavin excitedly jumped up next to him.

“In the air!” Ryan also jumped up from the other side of the table, looking like an excited dog that heard the word  _ “walk” _ and decided that was the best thing to ever grace his ears.

Jeremy decided he really didn’t want to know the backstory behind that team name, and that it might be a good idea for him to ask someone else about the heist info later. He watched as Gavin and Ryan both sat back down, and Jeremy did his best to hide the slight pang of  _ something _ inside him. (He’d later admit it was jealousy, but in all honesty he wasn’t sure which of the two he was jealous of.)

“Alright Michael and Jeremy, we’ll need you two on the ground going in first,”

Jeremy looked over at Michael who was slouched in his chair not really paying much attention to Geoff. Michael caught his look and nodded at him, at least acknowledging him.

Geoff cleared his throat and Michael and Jeremy both looked back at him. “Michael you’ll need to set up the explosives which is why I have Jeremy with you. Jeremy, you’re job will be to watch Michael’s back, make sure he doesn’t get shot.”

“Why not just pair me with Ryan?” Michael sat up slightly in his chair.

“Because we all know that if I did, you’d get,” Geoff held up his hands and made air quotes, “ _ distracted _ .”

At this Michael shrugged and Jeremy watched as Ryan smirked and un-crossed his arms. Jeremy was certain that Ryan’s right hands was drifting far lower than it needed to. (Really it was just holding Michael’s hand under the table, but nobody would blame Jeremy for thinking it was something else.)

Jeremy looked back at Geoff who seemed to be done with the situation.

“Jack will be waiting about three blocks north with the get-away van. I’ll leave it up to her on what kind of disguise to use, and hopefully it won’t be as bad at Gavin’s old firefighter idea.”

Gavin scoffed, “Well honestly it would have worked if some people at least knew how to  _ dress _ like a bloody fireman to begin with.”

Jeremy snickered slightly as he side-eyed Gavin. He had a front row seat to Geoff  _ nailing _ Gavin with a whiteboard marker, sending everyone in the room into laughter. It was soon made even better by Gavin sending the marker back and hitting Geoff square in the nose.

All hell broke loose.

Jeremy had dived under the heist table with Matt, the two of them plotting out the best course of escape.

Gavin and Michael and taken Jack hostage and were attempting to settle on their demands while Geoff, Ryan, and Larry (Larry was more or less  _ accidently _ dragged to their team only because Ryan suggested they also take a hostage.)

The war went on for the next hour, and only ended when someone had realized they threw a knife instead of a pen. (Steffie swore up and down it wasn’t her knife, but really when you work with a crew of criminals, it could have been  _ anyone’s _ knife.)

Geoff called off the war, Jack and Larry were released, and everyone collectively decided the meeting would continue the next day when everyone was less wired.

Now Jeremy and Matt had successfully escaped the full on war about fifteen minutes after it started, and the two of them had been waiting in the penthouse living room waiting for everyone else to leave.

They watched as Ryand and Michael left the planning room first, still laughing and trying to talk about their plans for dinner. It was that moment Jeremy realized the two were together. Not together as in walking next to each other, but  _ together together _ that probably explained all the candid shots Ryan had on his phone.

Matt only shook his head, “Those two really make it obvious they’re soulmates. Michael is just so overprotective and Ryan always looks at him like he’s the only person in the room.” Matt make a fake gagging noise. “It’s kind of gross,”

“I honestly just put it together they’re together,” Matt stared at him in shock.

“Just now? You mean to tell me you didn’t have the  _ slightest _ clue that the reason Geoff just doesn’t send them out together is because they spend too much time making out?”

Now it was Jeremy’s turn to fake gag, “I didn’t need the details, Matt.”

After them was Larry, looking slightly more frazzled than usual. Matt waved to him as he left the penthouse.

Steffie walked out with her held ducked in embarrassment, carrying a small knife case with her. Jeremy hadn’t been in the room to see her throw it, but he could piece together this with the scream from Geoff and figure out that this was Steffie’s “walk of shame”.

“I think I might try and catch Gavin walking out,” Jeremy said, much to Matt’s shock.

And just why would you do that?” Matt’s confusion was obvious, and quite frankly Jeremy wasn’t exactly sure why he would either.

“I don’t know, maybe ask him out for drinks or something like that. See if he’s interested in bar hopping.” He could feel a slight flush forming on his cheeks and in that moment he prayed to whatever god existed that Matt couldn't see it.

“That sounds kind of like you want to ask him out, you know that right?”

Jeremy’s blush grew stronger, “Shut up,”

It was that moment that Gavin walked out talking with Geoff and Jack, the two of them seemed to hover around him like parents would hover around a child.

“I might send you and Jeremy out to meet our amo dealer and see if you can get a good price on what we’ll need for the heist.” Geoff had wandered over into the kitchen of the penthouse, Jack and Gavin following suit. Jeremy perked up at the mention of his name, and watched the three of them in the kitchen. Matt gave him a quick pat on the thigh to signify he was leaving.

“I haven’t even talked to him yet, Geoff!” Gavin’s arms were flailing about, it seemed he was very animated when he wasn’t in a work environment.

“Well he’s right over there stupid,” Geoff pointed directly at Jeremy, “go introduce yourself like a  _ normal  _ human being, and then the two of you can go out tomorrow to meet with our amo guy.” Geoff snagged a loaf of bread off the counter and walked off down the hall.

Jack gave Gavin a small smile and a pat on the shoulder before she too wandered down the hall after Geoff. There was a distant door slam, and then it was just Gavin and Jeremy left.

Gavin was still faced away from Jeremy. Jeremy watched as his whole posture changed; he seemed to straighten up more, and turned around with a lot more control than the flailing bird he saw just moments before.

Gavin walked carefully over to him, making sure to keep some space between them.

Jeremy swallowed nervously and stood up, having to look up in order to meet the other man’s eyes.

Gavin looked Jeremy up and down, taking in every little detail about the other man. He really couldn't help the five words that tumbled out of his mouth as eyed him up.

"You're shorter than I imagined,"

He smirked as he watched shock wash over Jeremy, then immediate anger as he quickly closed the distance between them, leaving them almost chest to chest.

"So you're the fucker I'm stuck with,"

And in that moment was the realization hit Gavin like a freight train. (Well more like a swift punch to the nose.) Gavin quickly brought his hands to his nose, immediately feeling blood.

There was a pause for a moment as both men stood staring at each other, taking in the  _ horrible _ way to meet someone. (Jeremy did swear that when he met his soulmate he’d punch them.)

But as quick as Jeremy struck, he backed off. Still fuming about the comment  _ and  _ about figuring out who his soulmate finally was. The words on his arm burned and it felt nothing like all those cheesy romance books had described. He wondered if it felt the same for Gavin, but quickly tossed the idea.

He stared at the blonde in front of him, realizing that  _ maybe _ punching his soulmate in the face wasn't the most appropriate action. He stepped forward to apologize and offer the other man some help, but Gavin was quick to retreat.

He still had his hands held up to his injured nose, making a futile attempt to stop the blood flow. When he noticed Jeremy stepping towards him he panicked, immediately taking several steps back to put distance between them.

The only thought going through his mind was,  _ "I fucked this up, it's always my fault. I did this to myself." _

In that moment he did the one thing he knew he was good at; he ran away and hid.

Jeremy was left standing in the middle of the penthouse living room, vaguely aware of the door slam from down the hall. His knuckles hurt like hell, but still not comparing to the complete and utter  _ fire _ that felt like it had engulfed his whole right arm.

He really,  _ really  _ need a drink.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was currently midnight, or at least somewhere around that time, Gavin wasn’t exactly keeping track. After he had met Jeremy face to face, he decided the best course of action was to lock himself in his room for the rest of the day.
> 
> Jack had knocked once trying to get him to eat, but had quickly left when Gavin said he wasn’t feeling well. (Which wasn’t a total lie, he did feel like absolute crap but not because he was sick like he had told Jack.)
> 
> He had been icing his nose for three hours straight trying to get the swelling to go down, the bleeding had luckily stopped about thirty minutes into being iced. His whole face just ached and he couldn’t bring himself to take anything to numb it. He’d also been debating for the past fifteen minutes or so if he should text Michael.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so this chapter is broken into two parts purely because they were too small to post as individual chapters on their own. They also fit better in a time sense by being in the same chapter.
> 
> But anyways I bet a lot of you are wondering why Jeremy would react the way he did to hearing that first phrase, and you finally get to know!  
> (Also getting to write more angst is always fun~)
> 
> Feel free to tell me how much it hurts in the comments!

It was currently midnight, or at least somewhere around that time, Gavin wasn’t exactly keeping track. After he had met Jeremy face to face, he decided the best course of action was to lock himself in his room for the rest of the day.

Jack had knocked once trying to get him to eat, but had quickly left when Gavin said he wasn’t feeling well. (Which wasn’t a total lie, he did feel like absolute crap but not because he was sick like he had told Jack.)

He had been icing his nose for three hours straight trying to get the swelling to go down, the bleeding had luckily stopped about thirty minutes into being iced. His whole face just  _ ached _ and he couldn’t bring himself to take anything to numb it. He’d also been debating for the past fifteen minutes or so if he should text Michael.

Michael was his boi, his best friend, the  _ only _ one in the crew to have seen the words on Gavin’s arm and to have  _ understood _ why he was so nervous about meeting people. Michael just understood him from the get go, even if he didn’t always show it, he cared for him.

Gavin decided to just do it.

**Gavino:** **_hey boi, you awake?_ **

It had taken about five minutes to get a response.

**Moogar:** **_no_ **

**Moogar:** **_this better be important to wake me up at the butt crack of fucking dawn_ **

**Gavino:** **_it is actually…_ **

**Moogar:** **_give me five mins to at least put some clothese on_ **

He let the ice pack fall from his face, it must have been earlier than he thought if he had managed to wake Michael up. Hopefully he hadn’t woken Ryan up as well, but that wasn’t at the top of his concern list right then.

Gavin stood up and gently walked himself over to his closet where he kept an extra rolling chair for when he had one of the other crew members working with him on something. It didn’t get used as much since Geoff had turned one of the spare bedrooms of the penthouse into a computer/equipment room, but at least he still had it for those rare moments someone actually wanted to spend time with him outside of “work stuff”.

He attempted to make himself look like he’d been busy, quickly shaking his computer mouse in order to wake it up and jump into whatever project he had left for himself.

Halfway through reading the small file he’d made on their amo dealer he heard Michael knock at his door.

“You better let me in asshole!” Michael knocked again for extra effect.

Gavin spun his chair to the door, “It’s open boi” A little false enthusiasm in his voice would at least leave Michael a little off edge.

The door was gently pushed open and Michael came padding in. He was in a simple tank top and sweatpants and Gavin had never been more thankful for the invention of clothing. (It was more along the lines that Gavin was glad Michael liked to wear a shirt because even in the dark, the trail of hickeys down his left side was slightly obvious.)

Michael gently sat in the chair Gavin had pulled out, instantly trying to look over the other man for anything that might indicate what was wrong. Gavin ended up looking back at his computer screen, never one to enjoy somebody staring at him unless he was in his Golden Boy getup.

Unfortunately for him, his computer screen lit up enough of his face to give him away.

“What the fuck happened to your nose?” Michael was instantly reaching for Gavin’s head, turning his face towards him to better examine the damage. “Did you get mugged again? I don’t even remember you leaving the penthouse today after the meeting?” He was staring him down, trying to trap him with the patented “Mogar Glare”.

Gavin was looking anywhere but Michael. “It was just a rough meeting- OW!”

At that moment Michael started to prod at his nose, tracing the edges of the purple bruise that was forming.

“Michael please,” Gavin yanked his head away, he didn’t need him  _ doting _ on him, that wasn’t what criminals did.

“Tell me who the fuck did this, I’ll gladly return the favor.” Michael sat back in the chair, crossing his arms.

Instead of telling him, Gavin flicked the desk light on and rolled up his shirt sleeve. His arm had started hurting after he heard Jeremy’s words, but it wasn’t anything compared to his face, so that’s what he had focused on treating. He gently lifted his right arm for Michael to see; the words had changed from black lettering to white, indicating that they had been said.

Michael let out a soft, “oh” before gently taking Gavin’s arm in order to examine it further. “So you met them?” His fingers gently brushed over the letters, Gavin hissing in pain.

“Yeah, didn’t expect it to end with me in so much trouble…” He gently pulled his arm away from Michael and rolled his sleeve back down. He began to fidget with his hands while he watched him carefully.

“So they did this to you,”

Gavin nodded.

“Name. Now.” Michael stood up from the chair.

“I can’t Michael, I don’t want you hurting them. Just let us figure it out on our own.” Gavin ducked his head down, his leg bouncing nervously as well now.

“They hurt you, Gavin! I can’t just sit here knowing that you’re in physical and emotional pain because of them! I’m your  _ friend _ Gavin; it’s my fucking job to help you!”

Michael was shouting, Gavin hated it when he shouted. It felt too much like before he met Geoff, too much like he was seventeen again being given a plane ticket and told to never come back. Too much like he hated him. Of course he knew better, knew that Michael wasn’t mad at  _ him _ but it still didn’t make him feel good.

“Michael please, just don’t hurt him, Michael.” He watched Michael pace around the room before coming back to sit in the chair.

He sighed before reaching out to hold Gavin’s shoulder. “Alright, but at least tell me their name, just so I know who and can step in just in case there’s trouble again. I promise I won’t tell the others either.”

Gavin looked up and smiled gently, “Thank you boi.” He took a deep breath and braced himself, “It’s Jeremy.”

\-----

Jeremy had invited Matt over as soon as he got home; and by the time Matt had gotten there, Jeremy had already downed two beers and was in the process of trying to open a box of Four Loko on the floor while his cats looked on in what could only be assumed as horror. 

Matt didn’t really know the details of what happened other than the slew of text messages he had received from, what he could only assume, was a very frantic and panicked Jeremy. (Either that or Jeremy was now suddenly into drugs, but Matt was able to chuck that theory as soon as he saw him in person.)

Matt carefully set down the bag of chips he brought with and was thankful he decided to skip the alcohol this week. Last thing he needed was to deal with emotional drunk Jeremy while he himself was busy being an over emotional drunk as well. (He’d tried it before, and honestly that results of that night are never something he wants to repeat.) He went over and confiscated the box of Four Loko that Jeremy was fighting with and proceeded to help him up onto the couch.

“Alright, care to explain to me what happened to make you want to get alcohol poisoning tonight?”

Jeremy didn’t respond; instead, he just attempted to bury himself into the couch cushions and hope Matt would give up.

“You’re not getting out of this that easily,” He tried to pull Jeremy out from under the cushions to no avail. “Hell you were the one that invited me over here in the first place!”

At this Jeremy stilled, giving himself a moment to process that he did in fact invite Matt over before he started to hit the drinks because sober him knew he was going to be an issue. He carefully sat up, holding his head slightly when the world decided to spin.

Matt gave him a moment to get his bearings before prodding him again. “C’mon Jeremy, whatever happened that made you want to drink yourself into oblivion can’t have  _ that _ bad,”

“Oh yes, yes it is that bad.” He reached for the bag of chips Matt had brought, beginning another long battle with a container that refused to open by his hands.

“Ok, then get on with it then.” He snagged the bag from the other man, and easily popped it open. 

Jeremy just took it back with a glare, mumbling something about being able to open it himself. With his left arm elbow deep in Doritos, he held his right arm out for Matt to see. The white lettering was only highlighted by the bright red splotches that covered his forearm. He was glad sober him had actually changed into a tank top; his purple jacket had kept rubbing up against the words and kept causing him to hiss out in pain every time his moved his car’s steering wheel.

Matt just cocked an eyebrow, not understanding what Jeremy was trying to wordlessly communicate to him. Jeremy began to wave his arm more to try to emphasize his point.

“Dude, just use you’re fucking words, I don’t know what vague arm gestures mean.  _ Especially  _ when you’re drunk.”

Jeremy frowned and swallowed his mouthful of chips. “Just look at my arm sheesh, is it that difficult?” He shook his arm again to make his point, wincing slightly as the burning feeling came back.

Matt grabbed, but quickly let go when Jeremy practically yelped in pain. He reached out again, taking his arm with more caution, being careful to not actually put pressure anywhere over the lettering. “Woah,”

“Yeah tell me about it,” Jeremy huffed.

“So you met them? How did it go? Who even are they?” Matt felt like he was bursting with questions, it wasn’t every day your best friend met their soulmate. And it certainly wasn’t very often that your best friend ended up getting wasted because they met their soulmate. Matt self consciously ran a hand over where his own set of words rested under his jacket sleeve.

Jeremy set the chips down, but kept himself facing away from his friend. “I… punched them. In the nose… Because of the comment about my height.” He waited for Matt to respond, but there was just silence, so he tried to explain himself. “Look Matt, my height was always the butt of jokes back in high school. It was always the reason people pushed me aside or the reason I couldn’t join any teams. Every coach I had said that if I was only a few inches taller, I’d be  _ perfect _ for the sport. Nobody ever actually saw me as a maturing human being, only a fun-sized trouble maker. No one ever took me seriously about  _ anything _ .”

Matt put a gentle hand on his shoulder, keeping silent to let him continue.

“Every time I saw those words on my arm, I felt like my soulmate would never actually take me seriously either. That they’d treat me like a kid and I’d have to put up with it because they’re my  _ perfect match _ ! And I didn’t want that!” Jeremy stood up now, starting to anxiously pace around the room. “But when I hit Gavin in the face and saw how  _ scared _ he was of me, god Matt I felt like I had just shattered him! I felt like a monster because I acted on impulse, just like a child would…”

Jeremy plopped himself back onto the couch, and went for the Four Loko. (Matt had opened it when Jeremy had stood up and started to pace.)

“Well... “ Matt paused, quite honestly stumped about the whole situation. Everything had taken him off guard; Jeremy’s explanation about his teen years, the admission that he had punched Gavin in the face, and then the fact that  _ Gavin “Golden Boy” Free _ was his soulmate. All of it felt a little too much to Matt. “Did you apologize to him? Or even explain why you acted this way?”

“No! He ran off before I could say anything.” Jeremy let his head fall back and rest on the back of the couch. The ceiling of his apartment was very intriguing.

Matt pushed away the drinks, and snagged a pen and a piece of scrap paper. “Ok, so… Let’s start with making a plan to fix this shit storm that way the crew doesn’t kill you tomorrow.


End file.
